Friday, February 24, 2012

I am not a big seafood fan (sigh). I was forty before I decided that sea scallops were delicious. How can a girl like me who thinks about food 24/7, not enjoy seafood? Should I admit that I was born and raised in South Florida, surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean and would not touch the abundance of fresh seafood? I should not admit it, but it's the truth. Since I am baring my food soul should I admit that I could eat tuna (from the can) salad sandwiches with wild abandon? It's a sad state of affairs for a food lover.

These days, I do make an effort to continue to re-discover seafood as the opportunity presents itself. One of my favorites is scallops. This dish prepared by my husband is a meaty sea scallop dish, blackened in a spice mixture and then seared in a smoking cast-iron pan. Served up with a simple vinaigrette of green onions and a smoky tomato relish provides a fresh vibrancy to the dish.

The ingredient list is long but it is really an uncomplicated dish to prepare, so worth the effort.

The sea scallops cook quickly in the smoking hot cast iron pan searing the flavor mixture. Remember when blackening meat was all the craze?

Preheat the broiler or heat a grill pan over high heat. Brush tomatoes with 2 tablespoons oil and season with salt and pepper. Broil and grill, turning a few times, until entire surfaced is blackened, about 5 minutes. Remove let cool slightly. Slice in half, remove the seeds, and dice.

Sea Scallops

3 tablespoons smoked sweet Spanish paprika

1 tablespoon ground ancho chile

1 tablespoon ground pasilla chile

1 teaspoon freshly ground white pepper

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

1/4 teaspoon onion powder

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

1/4 teaspoon celery salt

20- U-10 sea scallops, muscles removed

1/4 cup canola oil

Kosher salt

Green onion vinaigrette (recipe follows)

Green Onion Vinaigrette (makes about 2/3 cup)

1/4 cup white wine

1 small shallot, chopped

2 tablespoons mayonnaise

1 tablespoon honey

6 green onions, green part only, chopped

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions Green Onion Vinaigrette

Combine the vinegar, 1/4 cup water, the shallot, mayonnaise, and honey in a blender and blend until combined. Add the green onions and blend until smooth. Season with salt and pepper. The vinaigrette can be prepared 4 hours in advance and stored covered in the refrigerator. Bring to room temperature before serving.

Directions:

1. To make the tomato relish, put the tomatoes, red onion, green onions, vinegar, and olive oil in a medium bowl and mix gently to combine. Season with salt and pepper.

3. Heat a large cast-iron pan over high heat until it begins to smoke. Brush the scallops on both sides with oil and season with salt. Dredge one side of each scallop in the spice rub and put the scallops in the pan spice side down. Cook until browned and a crust has formed, 1-1/2 to 2 minutes. Turn the scallops over and continue to cook until just cooked through, 2 to 3 minutes longer.

4. Divide the scallops among 4 large dinner plates, top each scallop with some of the tomato relish. drizzle with vinaigrette, and sprinkle some green onion on top.

Oh Velva I have my issues too regarding fish! I live in a country that is surrounded by sea and I don't particularly like fish, silly ha? Anyway, I do an effort too to appreciate it more so we'll see. On the other hand your scallops are awesome and I would be more than glad to have a plate or even two, delicious!

I love seafood and I'm also on the seafood diet.I see food and I eat. Sorry , bad old joke. Your blackened scallops look delectable. Sea scallops are so tender and sweet. The list is long, but not difficult in the least. This would be an ideal recipe to try.

Hooray for Bobby Flay! These scallops look beautiful with the red and green garnishes. I've always enjoyed seafood, but I do have a hard time with fish. Like you, I'm coming around. With recipes like this it's a little easier.

Your plated meal looks awesome Velva - I like each componenet. We love blackened fish but have not tried scallops - but will soon. Bev grew up with a mom who didn't care for fish so her repertoire is limited to fish that isn't fishy, prefers canned to fresh tuna, except she loves fried oysters - go figure.

And here I am wishing I live for at least 6 months in a seafood-rich location. :) We are starved for it here in central KY and Indiana. We are seafood lovers though and would really enjoy these scallops.

This is a great recipe!I see from the other scallop recipes on the side bar that you love them. For me, moving to Florida opened up lots of possibility for seafood meals. We no longer live in Tallahassee and frequent the Apalachicola Oyster Festival to my heart's content, but I now look forward to fresh trout, salmon, tuna and cod on a regular basis as they come off ocean and river boats here in the Pacific Northwest.

I rarely eat scallops in restaurants because you never know if they will be prepared well or not but making them at home, I know what I'm getting. This sounds like a wonderful way to prepare them and scallops are among the most healthy sea foods to eat.

I love seafood. The only fish I knew growing up was fish sticks and I live in San Diego. Lucky for me in my college years I discovered just how fantastic fresh fish can be. These scallops will be on our table soon.Mimi